THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
Nesta aula priorizaremos o estudo do past continuous. Veja a conjugação
dos verbos to walk (r.v.) (= andar, caminhar) e to give (i.v.) (= dar)
AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENTS
I was walking
You were walking
He was walking
She was walking
It was walking
We were walking
You were walking
They were walking

I was giving
You were giving
He was giving
She was giving
It was giving
We were giving
You were giving
They were giving

Com o past simple do auxiliar ‘be’ + the present participle do verbo
principal conjuga-se o past continuous dos verbos ingleses.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
I was not walking
You were not walking
He was not walking
She was not walking
It was not walking
We were not walking
You were not walking
They were not walking

I was not giving
You were not giving
He was not giving
She was not giving
It was not giving
We were not giving
You were not giving
They were not giving

b) It may also be used to describe an action that was happening at the same time
another action was in progress.
Pode ser também usado para descrever que uma ação passada estava em
progressão ao mesmo tempo que outra.

All the time the movie star was bathing at the beach, her security agents
were keeping an eye on anyone who came close to her.
O todo o tempo que a estrela estava se banhando no mar, seus agentes de
segurança estavam vigiando qualquer um que dela se aproximasse.
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Text 1: The Boston Tea Party
By the middle of the 1700s, the 13 colonies that made up part of England's
empire in the New World were finding it difficult to be ruled by a king 3,000
miles across the Atlantic Ocean. They were tired of the taxes imposed upon
them. But independence was a gradual and painful process. The colonists could
5 not forget that they were British citizens and that they owed allegiance to King
George III.
A "tea party” and a “Massacre" were two events that hurried destiny. Along
with general unrest these events united the colonists. In 1767 a tea company in
India, owned by England, was losing money. To save the company, England
10 levied a tax on tea sold in the colonies in 1773. Partly as a joke, Samuel Adams
and other Bostonians dressed up as Indians and dumped a cargo of the India
Company Tea into the Massachusetts Bay. King George Ill did not think it was
funny, nor did he lift the tax on tea. In the Boston harbor, British soldiers were
jeered and stoned by colonists who thought the soldiers had been sent to watch
15 them. The soldiers fired into the crowd and killed a few citizens. The colonists
exaggerated the number killed and called it a massacre. (Excerpt from
Independence Day, in Celebrate! Holidays in the USA)
Visit: http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/independ.html

Answer the following questions using complete sentences.
1. Why were the 13 colonies finding it difficult to be ruled by a king in the
1700s?
_____________________________________________________________
2. Who did the citizens owe allegiance to?
____________________________________________________________
3. Which two events hurried destiny?
____________________________________________________________
4. What was happening to a tea company in India, owned by England, in l767?
____________________________________________________________
5. What did England do to save the company?
____________________________________________________________
6. How did a number of Bostonians react?
____________________________________________________________
7. Why were the British soldiers jeered and stoned by colonists?
____________________________________________________________
8. Who fired into the crowd?
____________________________________________________________
9. How many citizens were killed?
____________________________________________________________
10. How did the colonists call this incident?
____________________________________________________________

b.2) a little (= um pouco) usado diante de non-count nouns.
I would like a little more sugar in my coffee.
Gostaria de um pouco mais de açúcar no meu café.

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COLLOCATION STUDY - PHRASAL VERBS
From text 1:
“By the middle of the 1700s, the 13 colonies that made up part of England's
empire in the New World …” (L-1/2)
Por volta de meados do século XVIII as colônias que compunham parte do império
britânico no novo mundo...

“Bostonians dressed up as Indians” (L-11/12)
Cidadãos de Boston fantasiados de índios.

Text 2: Memorial Day:
It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody
Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home,
some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore
owner in Waterloo, New York, heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested
5 that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were
killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. On the
morning of May 3, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the
graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, Retired
Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the
10 soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery
to decorate their comrades’ graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration,
but a memorial. The townspeople called it Decoration Day. (Excerpt from
Celebrate! Holidays in the USA, Labor Day)
Visit: http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/labor.html

ANALYSIS OF TEXT 2
1. Procure no text 1 (um) exemplo de construção no past continuous:
____________________________________________________________
2. Procure no texto exemplos de construção no past simple:
regular verbs: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
irrregular verbs: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. Quando fizemos um breve estudo das prepositions of time mencionei que
se diz in the morning em inglês, lembra-se? Por que, então, o autor usou ‘On
the moning... (L- 6/7)? Explique na linha abaixo:
_______________________________________________________________
Text 3: Cross-cultural understanding
My name is Cindy Ramirez. I am 17 years old, and I am originally from
Mexico City, but right now I am living in Lafayette, Indiana. I arrived in the
U.S. two years ago because all my family was living here and I wanted to learn
more English. Now that I am here, I am trying to meet new people and learn
5 more English because all my classes are in English.
When I arrived in the U.S. I did not know English very well, but with time
and my teacher’s help I am learning more. Now I can speak, read, and write
more than before I arrived; the important thing is that I need to try to learn more
and more. I try to pay attention during any conversation, and I am very focused
10 on pronunciation. (From e-Journal, American Teenagers)
Visit: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0705/ijse/understanding.htm
ANALYSIS OF TEXT 3
1. Escreva exemplos do texto acima de construções no past continuous:
____________________________________________________________
2. Escreva exemplos do texto acima de construções no present continuous:
____________________________________________________________

b) as várias expressões onde a palavra ‘now’ aparece:
b.1) now and then [or: now and again] (= de vez em quando)
Now and then we visit our relatives out of town.
De vez em quando visitamos nossos parentes de fora da cidade.
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b.2) from now on (= de agora em diante)
From now on I’m not going to let you enter the classroom if you’re late.
De agora em diante não vou deixar você entrar na sala, se estiver atrasado.

b.2) just now (= agorinha mesmo)
I don’t know where Susan is, but she was here just now.
Não sei onde a Susan está, mas estava aqui agorinha mesmo.

b.8) Now then (= e então)
Now then, who wants to go to the beach with us?
E então, quem quer ir à praia conosco?

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FLASHBACK
The Prenuptial Dinner
Nancy White is hosting the prenuptial dinner at the San Antonio Bar and Grill
in Crystal City. You can hop in a taxi from the hotel or you can walk from the
Ritz Carlton Hotel. If you prefer to walk, go out the driveway and turn right
onto Fairfax Road. Take first left onto 15th Street. Go under 2 viaducts, about 3
blocks up, and immediately following the second one, turn right onto Clark
Street. You will follow the road about one block and turn left onto 18th Street.
Go one block till dead end. Turn left onto Crystal Drive, about 100 yards. On
the left will be Canopy Entrance into ‘Crystal City underground shops; go in
that entrance. Once you enter building, The San Antonio Bar and Grill is on the
left. Please dress casual and have a great time.
I – Depois de ler o texto escreva nas linhas abaixo pelo menos 5 (cinco)
exemplos de estruturas no imperative.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
II - Escreva na linha abaixo 1 (uma) construção no present continuous:
________________________________________________________________
III – Tente traduzir os seguintes fragmentos sem consultar nenhum dicionário:
You can hop in a taxi - _____________________
about 3 blocks up - _______________________
go one block till dead end - _________________
dress casual _______________________
have a great time - _____________________
IV – Você sabe dizer qual o oposto das seguintes palavras ou locuções?
On the left
_________________________________
Entrance ______________________________________
Turn left ______________________________________

1. The man on the left was drunk. What was he doing?
______________________________________________________________
2. The man on the right seemed very surprised. What was he doing?
______________________________________________________________

EXERCISES
I. Fill in the blanks with the past simple or the past continuous of
the verbs in bold:
1. It _______________ (rain - negative) when Mrs. Nelson _________
(arrive) home.
2. ______ you _______ (meet) Jane when you _____________ (study) in
Europe?
3. ______ you ______ (sleep) when I __________ (phone) you last night?
4. ______ your father _______ (watch) a news program on TV when I
_____________ (call) yesterday?
5. I _______ not __________ (talk) about you. I ______________ (mean) to
say that your brother was wrong.
II. Complete with the past form of the irregular verbs in brackets.
1. The 13 colonies ________ it difficult to be ruled by a king 3,000 miles away.
[FIND]
T: _____________________________________________________________
2. England ________ tea to the 13 colonies in North America. [SELL]
T: _____________________________________________________________
3. King George ________ the incident was not funny at all. [THINK]
T: _____________________________________________________________
4. Soldiers ________ home with many stories to tell about the war. [COME]
T: _____________________________________________________________
5. The Major General _______ the veterans through town to the cemetery.
[LEAD]
T: _____________________________________________________________

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III. Picture Quiz. Choose the best option to go with the pictures:

1. What were they doing yesterday?
a) They were playing soccer.
b) They were jogging.
c) They were entertaining.

2. What was the Indian Chief carrying?
a) He was carrying a revolver.
b) He was carrying a machine gun.
c) He was carrying a shotgun.

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3. What was the woman doing?
a) She was not looking at the engine.
b) She was not checking the engine.
c) She was inspecting the engine.

4. What was the man doing?
a) He was telling his prayers.
b) He was pronouncing his prayers.
c) He was saying his prayers.

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5. What did the shoeshine guy notice?
a) Every body was wearing slippers.
b) Every body was wearing socks.
c) Every body was wearing sneakers.

6. What was the woman doing?
a) She was walking her dog.
b) She was carrying her dog.
c) She was holding her dog.
7. Strange as it may seem, what was the man doing?
a) He was holding the lamppost.
b) He was carrying a lamppost.
c) He was weighing the lamppost.
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IV. Complete the sentences with one word in bold belonging to the
‘think family’:
thought

2. It was raining heavily when I woke up this morning.
a) “What _________________?”
“It was raining heavily.”
b) “When ____________________?”
“When I woke up this morning.”
c) “How __________________________?”
“Heavily.”

3. The girls were rehearsing for the talent show at school last night.
a) “Who _________________?”
“The girls were.”
b) “What ____________________?”
“Rehearsing for the talent show at school.”
c) “When __________________________?”
“Last night.”

4. What was happening to a tea company in India, owned by England, in l767?
It was losing money.
O que estava acontecendo com uma companhia de chá Indiana, de propriedade
da Inglaterra, nem 1767?
Estava perdendo dinheiro.

5. What did England do to save the company?
England levied a tax on tea sold in the colonies in 1773.
O que fez a Inglaterra para salvar a companhia?
Impôs um tributo sobre o chá vendido para as colônias em 1773.

6. How did a number of Bostonians react?
They dumped a cargo of the India Company Tea into the Massachusetts Bay.
Como reagiram alguns Habitantes de Boston?
Atiraram na Baía de Massachusetts uma carga pertencente à Cia Indiana.

2. In fact, it was very thoughtful of you to bring your wife a gift.
Na verdade foi muito atencioso de sua parte trazer um presente para sua mulher.

3. That’s not what they were thinking at that time.
Aquilo não era o que eles estavam pensando na época.

4. Don’t you like to read books by the most famous world thinkers?
Você não gosta de ler os livros dos mais famosos pensadores do mundo.

5. It was very thoughtless of you to leave the keys in the car.
Foi muita desatenção sua deixar as chaves dentro do carro.

V. ‘NOW’ expressions
1. Just as now I didn’t know how to say the right words to my girlfriend.
2. From now on I won’t let you smoke in class.
3. Now and then I still buy that magazine to practice my English.
4. The phone had to ring just now that I’m watching the volley ball game.
5. Nowadays nobody believes in that story.
6. I’m studying to pass the next public exam. It’s now or never!
7. I asked my son to call when he arrived there, but until now, he hasn’t called.
8. Sonya was here just now. She can’t be far from here.
VI. appropriate prefix or suffix
1. partly // 2. bloody // 3. surviving // 4. owner // 5. planned // 6.
unrest // 7. funny.
VII. Practice making up questions
1. Virginia was playing her keyboard this afternoon.
Virginia estava tocando seu teclado esta tarde.

a) “Who was playing her keyboard?”
“Virginia was.”
b) “What was Virginia doing this afternoon?”
“Playing her keyboard.”
c) “When was Virginia playing her keyboard?”
“This afternoon ”

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2. It was raining heavily when I woke up this morning.
Estava chovendo forte quando eu acordei esta manhã.

a) “What was happening this morning?”
“It was raining heavily.”
b) “When was it raining heavily?
“When I woke up this morning.”
c) “How was it raining this morning?”
“Heavily.”
3. The girls were rehearsing for the talent show at school last night.
As garotas estavam ensaiando para o show de talentos na escola ontem à noite.

a) “Who were rehearsing for the school play?”
“The girls were.”
b) “What were the girls doing?”
“Rehearsing for the talent show at school.”
c) “When were the girls rehearsing?”
“Last night.”
4. The boys were singing Tom Jobim’s songs in church last Sunday.
Os rapazes estavam cantando músicas de Tom Jobim na igreja domingo passado.

a) “Who were singing Tom Jobim’s songs in church last Sunday?”
“The boys.”
b) “What were the boys doing in church last Sunday?”
“Singing songs.”
c) “Whose songs were the boys singing in church last Sunday?”
“Tom Jobim’s.”
d) “Where were the boys singing Tom Jobim’s songs?”
“In church.”